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Anthropology and French (5 years), MA

Degree Navigation

Introduction

Anthropology and French at Aberdeen is a great study combination, adding to your existing grounding in what it means to ‘be human’. With an in-depth study of a major modern European language and culture and a period of study abroad, you will develop your language and cultural familiarity skills. The language, perspective and skills you will develop will enable you to pursue a wide range of career options with an international flavour.

This programme is studied on campus.

Anthropology – for which we boast 100% student satisfaction – will give you a thorough grounding in humanity, the differences in human cultures and communities and how they have developed.

You will gain unique insights into behaviours, beliefs and attitudes all over the world and find connections between aspects of life such as family, economics, politics and religion. Combining this study with a modern European language and culture brings great value to employers and widens career choices.

In French you will benefit from the University's outstanding reputation, having been awarded the highest possible rating in the last national Teaching Quality Assessment. You will have many opportunities to develop your language skills informally as well as through courses and become familiar with French culture, history, and contemporary life.

You will also spend the whole of your third year of your five-year degree programme as a Language Assistant or visiting student in a French-speaking country, taking your language ability and cultural familiarity to a very high level.

The combination of skills you will graduate with – including critical thinking, communication and analysis in addition to your language – will open up a wide range of career options. Your skills will particularly appeal to employers in international business and many other fields where people, cultures, and international outlook feature strongly.

Key Programme Information

At a Glance

Learning Mode

On Campus Learning

Degree Qualification

MA

Duration

60 months

Study Mode

Full Time

Start Month

September

UCAS Code

LR61

Within Subject Areas

What You'll Study

Year 1

Compulsory Courses

This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.

This course, which is prescribed for level 1 students and optional for level 2 students, is studied entirely online and covers topics relating to careers and employability, equality and diversity and health, safety and wellbeing. During the course you will learn about the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes, how they are relevant to you and the opportunities available to develop your skills and attributes alongside your University studies. You will also gain an understanding of equality and diversity and health, safety and wellbeing issues. Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’ (non-completion will be recorded as ‘Not Achieved’). The course takes approximately 3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks and it will be available to you throughout the academic year.This course, which is prescribed for level 1 students and optional for level 2 students and above, is studied entirely online and covers topics relating to careers and employability, equality and diversity and health, safety and wellbeing. During the course you will learn about the Aberdeen Graduate Attributes, how they are relevant to you and the opportunities available to develop your skills and attributes alongside your University studies. You will also gain an understanding of equality and diversity and health, safety and wellbeing issues. Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’ (non-completion will be recorded as ‘Not Achieved’). The course takes approximately 3 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks and it will be available to you throughout the academic year

Anthropology is the comparative study of human ways of life through the study of societies and cultures around the world. In this course we introduce some of the key topics of contemporary anthropological inquiry: What is Anthropology? What do anthropologists do? What is ethnography? How can we see the diverse world of societies and cultures around us, not by looking from the outside, but by looking at how people themselves make their own lives and meanings?

In this course students will be offered an extended introduction to social anthropology and will focus on topics: language and culture, belief and religion, gender and sex, kinship, and race. Students will develop and refine their understanding of major issues in the discipline of social anthropology through staff lectures, tutorials, and ethnographic films.

This course offers students who are registered for the beginners' course in French language an introduction to twentieth century French culture and society through the study of films, short prose texts and poetry. The course is organised around the broad themes of childhood and adolescence, gender, sexuality and love and marginalisation in contemporary France. The texts will be studied in translation or with subtitles.

This course is intended for students who have studied French to Higher or equivalent level, but whose knowledge may be rusty. It will enable them to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.

This course is intended for students who have studied French to at least Higher or equivalent level, or beyond to A level or Advanced Higher. It will enable them to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.

This course is intended for students who have studied French to the equivalent of Scottish Higher or beyond. Building on the work done in the first semester in FR1024 or FR1025, it seeks to enable students to consolidate and extend their knowledge of French, written and spoken.

This course offers students with intermediate or good knowledge French language an introduction to twentieth century French culture and society through the study of films, short prose texts and poetry. The course is organised around the broad themes of childhood and adolescence, gender, sexuality and love and marginalisation in contemporary France.

This course offers students who are registered for the beginners' course in French language an advanced introduction to twentieth-century French and Francophone culture and society, focusing on the occupation of France during World War II and the experience of colonialism and post-colonialism. Written texts will be studied in translation or with vocabulary help and films will be studied with subtitles.

This course offers students with intermediate or good knowledge French language an advanced introduction to twentieth-century French and Francophone culture and society, focusing on the occupation of France during World War II and the experience of colonialism and post-colonialism.

Year 2

Compulsory Courses

This course explores some of the key questions that anthropologists have debated: what it is to be human, the nature of human interaction with other humans, with non-humans, and with the environment, and the different ways that people perceive the world and act within it. Themes that will be discussed in this course include the category of the person, morality and ethics, art and aesthetics, what is power, how to engage with Otherness, and how anthropologists engage actively, outside academia, in development, health, or business.

This course will explore contemporary colonial expressions from an anthropological perspective. It will be split into two main themes: Material Histories; and Mediated Histories. Within these themes it will address topics such as the "capturing" of cultures in museums, kinship and politics, gendered colonialism, economic development, media, aboriginal rights and contemporary resistance movements.

This second year French language course which runs in the first half-session is only open to students who have passed FR1523. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language courses (along with FR2512) that has to have passed to be allowed into the French honours Programme.

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the individual and society in France from the 18th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of novels, a play and a film.

This second year French language course which runs in the second half-session is only open to students who have followed FR2012. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language pre-requisite courses (along with FR2012) that one must have passed to be allowed into the French honours Programme.

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the centre and periphery in France and the Francophone world from the 17th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of a play, poetry, postcolonial theory and a film.

This second year French language course which runs in the first half-session is only open to students who have passed FR1524. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language courses (with FR2502) that one has to have passed to be allowed into the French honours Programme.

This second year French language course which runs in the second half-session is only open to students who have followed FR2002. It will improve their written, oral and aural skills, and is one of the two second year French language pre-requisite courses (along with FR2002) that one must have passed to be allowed into the French honours Programme.

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the individual and society in France from the 18th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of novels, a play and a film.

This course will introduce students to a variety of texts which focus on the theme of relationships between the centre and periphery in France and the Francophone world from the 17th century onwards. The course will involve lectures and tutorials and will include the study of a play, poetry, postcolonial theory and a film.

Year 3

Compulsory Courses

Year 4

Compulsory Courses

This course explores theoretical issues and key debates in contemporary anthropology. We begin with the questioning of the central concepts of culture and society in anthropology during the 1980s. Following this, we ask: how can anthropology proceed if the targets of its investigation can no longer be understood as objective entities? How can anthropology proceed if the anthropologist themselves is inevitably implicated in and part of those very targets? To look for possible answers, the course examines current anthropological interest in power and history, political economy and phenomenology, experience, embodiment and practice, ontology and things that speak.

This Junior Honours French language course, whose pre-requisites are FR2502 or FR2512, runs over the full session and is only open to Single and Joint Junior Honours degree in French students.

Building on the skills gained during their first two years of study of French, this course will improve the students' French language skills in all four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, whilst increasing their grammatical and lexical knowledge, as well as their sensitivity to linguistic variety.

It carries 15 credits and is assessed by way of four equally weighted assignments.

Year 5

Compulsory Courses

This Senior Honours French language course, whose pre-requsite is the Junior Honours French Language course, is run over the full session and is only open to Single and Joint Senior Honours degree in French students.

Building on the skills gained in their third year of study of French, this course will help the students' French language gain very high skills in all four areas of listening, speaking, reading and writing, whilst increasing their grammatical and lexical knowledge, as well as their sensitivity to linguistic variety.

This
course is open to joint honours students in anthropology. Having chosen a topic
for their study, students will be allocated a supervisor and carry out
readings, research and writing under the guidance of their supervisor. Students
will write a 10,000-word dissertation based on library research.

Further Information

How the programme is taught

The typical time spent in scheduled learning activities (lectures, tutorials, seminars, practicals), independent self-study or placement is shown for each year of the programme based on the most popular course choices selected by students.

How the programme is assessed

The typical percentage of assessment methods broken down by written examination, coursework or practical exams is shown for each year of the programme based on the most popular course choices selected by students.

Year 1

Learning Method

scheduled: 21%
independent: 79%
placement: 0%

Assessment

written: 72%
coursework: 21%
practical: 7%

Year 2

Learning Method

scheduled: 16%
independent: 84%
placement: 0%

Assessment

written: 69%
coursework: 25%
practical: 6%

Year 3

Learning Method

scheduled: 14%
independent: 86%
placement: 0%

Assessment

written: 40%
coursework: 57%
practical: 3%

Year 4

Learning Method

scheduled: 16%
independent: 84%
placement: 0%

Assessment

written: 41%
coursework: 59%
practical: 0%

Year 5

Learning Method

scheduled: 11%
independent: 89%
placement: 0%

Assessment

written: 25%
coursework: 62%
practical: 13%

Why Study Anthropology and French?

Aberdeen is one of the fastest-growing Anthropology departments in the UK.

Our core staff specialise in regions as diverse as Canada, the Central Asian Republics, Iceland and Scandinavia, Siberia, Scotland and the UK, South America, Tibet and the Himalayas.

We offer innovative ideas and a fresh vision of the subject, with an emphasis throughout on work at the cutting-edge of the discipline and research.

A vibrant student anthropology society regularly organises academic and social events, bringing together undergraduate and postgraduate students with staff outside the classroom.

We offer language courses both for students with qualifications in French and for beginners or near-beginners.

The discipline has an international reputation for research, covering not just France, but Francophone Africa and Caribbean and the wide range of our research interests is reflected in the Honours options courses we offer.

We are a medium-sized, friendly department, and the student-run French Society organises a range of social events.

Interested in this Degree?

Entry Requirements

You will find all the information you require about entry requirements on our dedicated 'Entry Requirements' page. You can also find out about the different types of degrees, changing your subject, offers and advanced entry.

Qualifications

The information below is provided as a guide only and does not guarantee entry to the University of Aberdeen.

Please note: entry requirements are different for 2018 and 2019 entry.

Entry Requirements (2018):

SQA Highers - AABBA Levels - BBBIB - 32 points, 5,5,5 at HLILC - 5H with 3 at H2 AND 2 at H3 OR AAABB, obtained in a single sitting. (B must be at B2 or above)

Entry Requirements (2019):

English Language Requirements

To study for an Undergraduate degree at the University of Aberdeen it is essential that you can speak, understand, read, and write English fluently. The minimum requirements for this degree are as follows:

International Applicants

Fees and Funding

You will be classified as one of the fee categories below.

Fee Waiver

For international students (all non-EU students) entering in 2017/18, the 2017/18 tuition fee rate will apply to all years of study; however, most international students will be eligible for a fee waiver in their final year via the International Undergraduate Scholarship.

Our Funding Database

Careers

Careers in French speaking organisations and companies.

Social Research.

Anthropology as a Consultant or Academic Researcher.

Our Experts

Information About Staff Changes

You will be taught by a range of experts including professors, lecturers, teaching fellows and postgraduate tutors. Staff changes will occur from time to time; please see our InfoHub pages for further information.

Top in Scotland for Anthropology

Unistats

Unistats draws together comparable information in areas students have identified as important in making decisions about what and where to study. You can compare these and other data for different degree programmes in which you are interested.